Fuse-clip.



n.0. COLE.'

FUSE CLIP.

. APPLICATION HLM) m1511417, 191s. 1,092,430. f Patented Apr. 7, 1914 a Vmwvw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT C. COLE, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOHNS-PRATT COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

FUSE-CLIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 17, 1913.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914.

Serial No. 754,921.

citizen of the United States, residing at.

Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fuse-Clips, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of those clips which are provided for receiving the terminals of inclosed fuses of the knife blade contact type, and particu larly such fuses as are designed to carry relatively large currents, although of course these clips may be used for" receiving the terminals of fuses of small capacity.

Fuses, especially those of large capacity, require a proper area of Contact between the surfaces of their terminals and the surfaces of the clips with which they are connected, and these clips are usually made in the form of spring fingers in order that the fuses may be quickly placed in or removed from the circuit. Such spring fingers must press tightly against the fuse terminals over a considerable area otherwise the' 'flow of current between the clipsv and. thef'fuse termlnals causes heating, which heatiinggy not onlymaterially affects the carrying capacity of the fuse and its actionwhen blown, but also tends to soften and destroy the elasticity of the clip fingers. If the elasticity of the fingers is destroyed, they are liable to become more or less bent and stay bentwhen a fuse is inserted or removed, and this increases the objectionable factorY of improper contact and consequent heating.

The object of this invention is to construct a terminal clip which is particularly designed for large fuses, although it may be used for small fuses, in such manner that the spring Contact fingers which bear against the surfaces of the fuse terminals, cannot be spread so far apart as to impair their elasticity, and also to so construct a clip that should the spring fingers not have any elasticity or should lose their elasticity as a result of heating, they will still be forced together byspring arms that will not become hot and will continue to make such close contact with the fuse terminals as to eliminate the causes for overheating. To accomplish this end 'the usual spring clip contact fingers are provided for engaging the fuse terminals. Back of these spring fingers are abutments which prevent the fingers from being unduly spread and bent outward sufiiciently far to affect the closeness of their contact with the fuse terminals. Outside of these stopping walls are spring arms of stiffer and more highly tempered metal which bear against the outer surfaces of the spring clips and force them toward each other should the elasticity of the spring clips become impaired, the outer spring arms being so far away and having contact against such small area of the spring fingers that they will never become overheated, for they do not carry current and on account of their location and amount of exposed surface they will radiate heat faster than they receive it.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings shows a plan of a fuse clip which embodies the invention. Fig. 2 shows a side view of the same. Fig. 3 shows a section on the plane indicated by the dotted line 3-3 on Fig. 1.

The clip illustrated has a base l which is desirably a brass casting. At one end on `-top this base has split contact lugs 2 which by screws 3 may be closed down upon the conducting terminal sleeve 4. Near the other end the base has upwardly projecting abut-ment walls 5 and between these walls are the spring fingers 6. These fingers may be made of copper, bronze 0r similar material, and are designed to receive the terminal of the fuse and make Contact sufficiently close and over a sufficiently large area to insure the proper fiow of current without undue heating. Outsidev of the abutments and extending upwardly and engaging the outer surfaces of the upper ends of the spring fingers are spring arms 7 These are desirably made of sheet steel sotempered as to have considerable elasticity. Between the lower ends of the spring fingers is a spacing block 8. The parts are tightly drawn together and secured by means of the bolt 9 and nut 10.

lVhen the terminal of a fuse is thrust between the clip fingers they open outwardly and force back the spring arms. The normal elasticity -of the spring fingers causes them to grip the fuse terminal in theproper manner. These spring fingers are obstructed by the abutment walls back of them so that they cannot be spread by the careless insertion or removal of a fuse terminal sufficiently far to impair their elasticity and lll@ to 4force said contact fingers toward lbeing obliged to carry current, do not become heated and lose their temper. With this construction, it is not even necessary to have the spring fingers which make contact withthe fuse terminals and carry current so stiff' and of such high temper as is" required with the present form of clip, for the spring arms will close the fingers together with sufficient force to cause them t-o make the necessary contact to avoid heatlng.

The invention claimed is: r

1. Afuse clip having a base, spring fingers on the base for receiving and making conducting contact with a fuse terminal, and

an independent spring arm on the base bearing against the outer surface of each of the contact spring fingers and forcing said fingers toward each other.

2. A fuse clip having a base, spring fingers on the base and adapted t-o receive and make electrical contact with a fuse terminal, abutment walls on the base outside of said sprin fingers to prevent them from being opene too widely, and an independent spring arm on the base and bearing against the outer surface of each of the contact fingers so as each other.

3. A fuse clip having a base, fingers supported by the base and adapted to receive and make electrical contact with a fuse terminal, abutments supported by the base adjacent to the fingers and preventing them from being opened too widely, and spring arms supported by the base with their upper ends bearing against the outer surfaces of said ngers near the free ends thereof `and forcing them toward each other.

4. A fuse clip having a base with terminal lugs and abutment walls, spring fingers arranged on the base between the abutment walls, and spring arms arranged on the base outside of the abutments and bearing againstthe outer surfaces of the spring fingers near the free ends thereof so as to force them toward each other.

5. A fuse clip having a base with abutment walls, fingers arranged between the Walls, a spacing block between the fingers, spring arms bearing against the fingers and forcing them toward each other, and means for clamping the parts together.

6. A fuse clip having a base, resilient contact fingers attached to the base and normally closing toward each other, and resilient reinforcing arms attached to the base and bearing against the outer surfaces of the contact fingers, said arms and fingers having capacity to exert pressure and effect good electrical contact with a fuse terminal when inserted between the contact fingers.

7. A fuse clip having a base, a pair of fingers extending outwardly from the base for receiving between them and making electrical Contact with a fuse terminal, and a pair of resilient arms extending outwardly from the base and having their free ends pressing against the outer surfaces of the contact fingers near the outer ends thereof.

ROBERT C. COLE. 

